OPEN Book – November 2023

R&I’s Internal Newsletter

Message from Interim Vice Chancellor Sherri Jones

News and Upcoming Events

R&I Staff Recognition Event – Reminder to register and submit Kudos!

Join us on Wednesday, December 13 at Sun Valley Lanes, 321 Victory Lane, from 11:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., for our annual recognition awards presentation and afternoon of bowling and prizes!  We will serve heavy hors d’oeuvres beginning at 11:45 a.m. in the lounge, followed by recognition awards, and then it’s on to the lanes!  Bowling is scheduled from 1:00-3:00 p.m. 
 
Please RSVP by the end of the day on Sunday, December 10, to let us know if you will be able to attend and if you wish to bowl.  We will need to know your shoe size if you are bowling, so your shoes can be waiting for you at your lane. Gather your team and create a team name as prizes are awarded for the best team name voted on by your peers. When you register to attend, you can sign up for a lane (limit six bowlers per team/lane). 

R&I team members are great at recognizing one another for their work and kudos are a foundation of our celebration. Submit your kudos by the end of the day on Sunday, December 10 to have them included in the presentation at the event.  

Lincoln Hour of Code & Tech Fair

Saturday, December 2, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at NIC Conference Center
Join us on for a morning full of coding activities and an interactive Tech Fair with robots, virtual reality and so much more! This event is free and open to the public – and fun for kids of all ages. REGISTER >>

UNL Combined Campaign for Health and Human Services

This is a special year for the Combined Campaign for Health and Human Services, one in which the United Way is celebrating a century of supporting Lincoln and Lancaster County community. The Combined Campaign reaches every corner of Nebraska and directly impacts every Nebraskan.  The university’s long tradition of campaign participation has been a key component in creating impactful, meaningful change in Nebraska’s communities.

Regardless of where you live, your participation in the Combined Campaign makes a difference. Your gift, no matter the size, will make a positive impact on communities. You can choose from a variety of giving options at https://www.unl.edu/chancellor/combined-campaign.

Thank you for your support of the 2023-24 Combined Campaign.
Sherri

NIC Donation Drive

From November 20 – December 8, Nebraska Innovation Campus is collecting personal care items for newly arriving refugees to Lincoln. Items needed include combs, brushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, baby shampoo, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, washcloths, hand towels, Kleenex, toilet paper, razors, shaving cream and feminine products.

Please drop your donations off at The Mill Coffee & Bistro, the NIC Administrative office (Suite 2220) or Nebraska Nova’s office (Suite 1100). Items collected will be taken to Lutheran Family Services to be distributed to the most vulnerable new Americans.  

 Make a monetary donation >>  If you would like to support Lutheran Family Services and new American refugee families in our community with your time, talent and friendship, please visit the volunteer website. 

R&I Potluck – It’s Back!

We are planning an all-R&I Potluck on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, from 11:30 – 1:00 p.m. at the Prem S. Paul Research Center at Whittier School.  A food sign-up will be coming in January.  Be sure to save the date on your calendar.

Holiday Shutdown

UNL will be closed Friday, December 22, 2023 through Monday, January 1, 2024, except for essential designated operations. The scheduled holiday closing dates and posting determinations for regular employees who ware eligible for holiday/floating holiday leave are as follows:

Holiday Closing Dates
December 22 – Floating Holiday (or Vacation, Banked Holiday Used, Comp Time Used, or Unpaid Leave)
December 25 – Holiday (In observance of Christmas Day)
December 26, 27, 28, and 29 – Floating Holiday (or Vacation, Banked Holiday Used, Comp Time Used, or Unpaid Leave)
January 1 – Holiday (In observance of New Year’s Day)
January 2 – Return to work

Regular Employees are eligible for holiday and earned floating holiday pay, prorated according to FTE. A regular employee will receive pay for a holiday if the employee is in pay status for the full work shift on:

If an employee does not have enough paid time including floating holidays accrued to cover the closedown, they may work with their supervisor to discuss leave usage which may include options for working all or part of the closedown. Consultation is available with UNL Employee Relations to assist supervisors and units with options.

Entering Leave: 
Biweekly-paid employees are required to enter all paid leave on their timesheet
Monthly-paid employees are required to enter paid leave in ESS, except for Holiday leave (e.g., 12/25 and 1/1)

Welcome New R&I Team Members

Deb Hamernik, Senior Research Advisor, Office of the Vice Chancellor, Started November 1

I am so excited and thankful for the opportunity to return to the R&I team! In this role, I will be helping bring together interdisciplinary research teams to compete for large, center grants and anything else to enhance the UNL research portfolio. For the last 3 years, I was Deputy Director, Institute of Food Production and Sustainability at the USDA NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture) in Kansas City. At NIFA, I led a team of 70+ people (I hired more 60 of these people) that administered competitive and capacity funding for preharvest plant and animal production from conventional, small/medium sized, organic, and controlled environmental agricultural systems. I retired from USDA in August 2023. Before joining NIFA, I had various roles at UNL including Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Associate Dean for Agricultural Research. I have a BS in Animal Science from UNL; MS in Animal Science from Washington State University; and PhD in Animal Physiology from Colorado State University. I grew up on a small farm in Columbus, NE and have been a Husker fan all my life – GBR!

Abbey Creglow, Project Specialist I, Sponsored Programs, started on November 27

Hi, my name is Abbey Creglow and I’m very excited to start my new position in the Office of Sponsored Programs as a Project Specialist I! Prior to coming to R&I, I held positions in the Veterinary Diagnostic Center and the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at UNL. Outside of work, my hobbies include spending time with family and friends, reading, swimming, and attending Husker volleyball games. GO BIG RED! I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone in my new department.

Farewells

Keri Williams’ last day with Sponsored Programs was November 15.  In the interim, please contact Kathi Malone.  

KUDOS to Our Colleagues

The University of Nebraska State Museum has been granted reaccreditation by the accreditation commission from the American Alliance of Museums.  The accreditation means that the museum continues to meet National Standards and Best Practices for U.S. Museums. Congratulations!
Francine Goh, MERC Project Manager, defended her dissertation on November 28th and now has her Ph.D!

Do you know someone who should join our team? Share these opportunities!

Manager – Editorial, Design & Production, University Press, application review date starts 12/1/2023 

The Month in Pictures

Charley Hill (Research Development) got married on October 7, 2023.  Pictured left to right:  Oliver, Danny, and Charley. 
IACP alongside Virtual Incision host the first surgery in new space at Life Sciences Annex (and that is not all)

This past month the Institutional Animal Care Program alongside Virtual Incision was able to host the first pig surgery in the new delegated surgical space at Life Sciences Annex. The two programs worked together to revamp the former Gnotobiotic space into an exceptional surgical space to host world class surgeons coming in to train on the robotics system “MIRA”. This also marked the first surgery where the lead surgeon was able to perform the hysterectomy remotely. The pig may have been on East Campus, but the surgeon operated the robot from across town at Virtual Incision Headquarters. Dr. Melissa Bausch and Jesse Berg assisted during the procedure. If you would like to view the surgical suite in action you are welcome to reach out to the IACP Office.  
The Heartland Robotics Cluster team housed at Nebraska Innovation Studio led 3 unique homeschool programs focused on Arduino, Robotic Prototyping and Automation Creation. 28 students in grades 9-12 spent the past 10-weeks coding, stitching, soldering and drawing. On Nov. 17, a showcase was held for friends and family to show off each student’s work.  
On Nov. 17, NIC Partners got a firsthand look at what the new Heartland Robotics Cluster coalition team housed at Nebraska Innovation Studio is up to. Pictured here: Isaac Regier, John Strope and David Martin are showing how the pen plotter, a computer-controlled machine that draws graphics or text with incredible speed and precision, works. 
The MERC team participated in a retreat at the beginning of November which addressed strategic planning and team development. Our newest member was unable to attend that day, so we put his name on a chair that appears in the group photo that I’ve attached. Pictured left to right:  Francine Goh, Nova Gocchi Carrasco, Jenn Rutt, Alian Kasabian, Debbie Miller, Emma Carstens, and Jacque Barmore.  Not pictured:  Peter Educate.
The MERC team held a surprise baby shower for Emma Carstens earlier this month in anticipation of her going on maternity leave. Her baby will have been born by the time the newsletter comes out, and I’ll get you more details if I can, but she’s already out and I’m not sure if anyone in the office has had any contact with her since. Below is a picture of one of the presents that were given to Emma at the surprise shower.

OPEN Book Submissions

If you enjoyed the news and photos, please consider sharing some for the next OPEN Book Newsletter. 

Thank you to the OPEN Book reporters:

Jacque Barmore (Methodology and Evaluation Research Core)
Mardi Bonner (Office of Sponsored Programs)
Megan Ebbers (Institutional Animal Care Program)
Tisha Gilreath Mullen (Office of Proposal Development)
Brooke Goedert (Nebraska Innovation Campus)
Mari Greer (Vice Chancellor’s Office)
Casey Lundberg (NUtech Ventures)
Suzanne Spiehs (Industry Relations)
Sara Quinn (Research Compliance Services), and
Ashley Washburn (Research Communications).

If you have anything you would like to include in the monthly OPEN Book newsletter, please reach out to one of these reporters or send it directly to Becky Carter (Vice Chancellor’s Office).

OPEN Book is a monthly electronic newsletter that highlights upcoming activities, office news, and accomplishments.  To read previous OPEN Book newsletters, go to research.unl.edu/open.